Former Pitt wide receiver and last season’s Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison has chosen USC per his Twitter over Texas.
What does it mean? It’s a tough loss for Steve Sarkisian and his wide receivers coach Brennan Marion, the man who coached him last season at Pitt, and perhaps more importantly it’s another sign that USC is back.
The 6-foot, 180-pounder had 100 catches last season for 1,593 yards and 17 scores and instantly becomes WR1 for new QB Caleb Williams at USC. He joins a deep receiving crew that also includes Gary Bryant Jr., Mario Williams, Tajh Washington and others.
It was widely reported before he entered the portal that Addison had an NIL deal worth $3 million and a house leading to much speculation that the Trojans had tampered with him before he entered which is against NCAA rules. However, some digging on my part led to nothing of the kind and this interest in USC had a lot to do with the success of Drake London last year (the No. 1 wide receiver picked in the NFL Draft) as well as his friendship with Williams and his father. Once Williams chose USC, I was told that the thought of becoming a Trojan was in Addison’s head. He went through spring football, didn’t feel the new offense without Marion and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple as well as without departed QB Kenny Pickett would work for him and here we are.
Addison took an official visit to Texas last week and met with the players and coaches as well as QB Quinn Ewers and then visited USC right after that. I’m told that the QB was the most important issue for Addison and his relationship and having worked with Williams in 7-on-7 out of high school was the key. However, NIL deals will be scrutinized by many and it will be widely thought he chose USC because of the rumored pre-existing deal in place. Time will tell if any sort of investigation will be done.
